Setting Records at Arleta High School

Today’s workshops at Arleta High School set not one but two records! Not only did the day include our 230th workshop, but it was also our largest day of workshops on record. About two dozen science classes attended four theater-sized workshops, allowing us to inspire over 1,000 students all in one day. Wow!

A number of science teachers approached our educators after the workshop, expressing their interest in teaching a full course in nanotechnology. They were pleasantly surprised by a demonstration of our curriculum and materials, and we anticipate that several of their classrooms will be learning nanotechnology this coming fall semester.

We are grateful to our sponsor, SoCalGas, which recently announced its vision to become the cleanest natural gas utility in North America. Their future workforce will need to know about clean technologies that may not have even been invented yet. Some of the thousand students they helped us inspire today may become future SoCalGas employees, innovating and utilizing these new technologies.

Take a look at these great student testimonials:

• “Everything was so cool. There was nothing I didn’t like!”
• “I am not really into science, but this actually caught my attention. Just keep doing what you are doing!”
• “I didn’t have a favorite part because everything was amazing.”
• “I got to learn that there is a way to clean the world’s water so everyone can have clean drinking water and so the population of fish does not decrease.”
• “I learned that we need nanotechnology in the future and it is very important for society.”
• “I like the fact that were videos that went along with the presentation. It kept me focused on the topic. In addition, the presenter explained everything thoroughly, which helped me to better understand the topic.”
• “I liked how they showed where nanotechnology can be used and how it could change the world.”
• “I liked how this workshop showed us how close we are to better technology in the near future.”
• “I liked the mini videos that were shown because it gave me a clear visual of what the topic was about.”
• “I want to learn more about how you can spray a spray and it will help you not get your stuff dirty! They threw a bucket of mud at two guys and one of them was clean and the other one got dirty. How did they do that? What did they put?”
• “It was amazing seeing all the different examples of how nanotechnology can improve all our lives, ranging from automotive coatings to the total cleaning of nature’s lakes.”
• “My favorite part about the workshop was the information provided and how it can change the future. The invisibility cloak was very interesting!”
• “My favorite part was when I found out that nanotechnology is helping to cure cancer. It has so much potential for medical advancement.”
• “My favorite thing about today’s workshop was that I got a better understanding of nanotechnology. I like to learn about new ideas especially ones that can make a difference in our everyday lives. I also liked that discussed the part of everyone having access to clean water through nanotechnology.”
• “My favorite thing about today’s workshop was the nanotechnology in medication for breast cancer that it can help detect and kill the tumor.”
• “My favorite thing from the workshop is the explanation of how nanotechnology and its new innovated creations help benefit our lives and how we do certain tasks. For instance, the super-hydrophobic spray helps items and object to not be stained on the surface and such. I loved it and found everything very interesting.”
• “Nanotechnology is a little confusing, but it was so interesting I want to see this presentation again.”
• “Nanotechnology made me think about another option for my future career. Nanotechnology sounded very interesting in the presentation. It made me wonder about how would our future lives be with nanotechnology.”
• “They gave a clear introduction to this type of STEM field that gave me a clear understanding and had the audience engaged with their study subjects.”